Monday 14 April 2014

Crystallised - cushion finish

A long time ago I made a cushion for Princess' friend for her birthday. At the time I promised to make one for Princess, but never got around to it.  About a month ago I bought a feather inner at Spotlight, which then sat on the back of the couch waiting to have a purpose in life.

One hot pink cushion extravaganza

During the week, Hubby and princess spent some time going through Pillow Pop to choose the best cushion design. Princess decided on a half square triangle design called Crystallise. I think she has great taste, because it was one of my favourites too.  After all my recent hand sewing, I was keen to get on the machine this weekend.

All. The. Cushions.  Including mine - huh.

First I cut 100 3" squares (50 each in cool and warm colours). I then sewed the squares in pairs (one cool and one warm) down the diagonal (1/4" either side of the middle). Then the 100 new squares were pressed, and trimmed down to 2.5". That was definitely my least favourite bit. The best bit was laying the squares out in the design. Princess thought it was just like a puzzle.

A side trip to Spotlight was necessary to pick the hot pink corduroy backing, hot pink ric rac (I hate piping mummy) and hot pink zip. I then sewed it all up on Saturday night when little miss was in bed.  I inserted a panel of quilting fabric in the back to break up All. The. Pink.

The back in all it's glory

There may have been a moment on Sunday when I nearly traded Princess in after she announced she didn't like the ric rac after all.  It all seems to be sorted now, after we spent some time looking at all the special animals and pretty flowers.  I am not allowed to give the cushion away, in any event. I think that's a good sign.

Spoiled little madam. It's lucky I love her.

Turtle and snail
The feather inner was 25", but it was a bit sparse, so it squidged perfectly into the cover, which is finished at 20" square.

Fish and baby turtle
I pointed out to Hubby that if I had made the blocks 10" finished instead of 2.5", that we would have a quilt big enough for our bed, for the same amount of work.  *sigh*

More little fish
It is pretty cool to have enough of a stash to just get the fabrics you need for a project without going to the shop. It is a bit spoiled too.

Wee wander little footsteps
 I even used a snippet of Heather Ross.  Princess doesn't know just how lucky she is...

Heather Ross bees and mice

I think this might be a good week for some link ups (if I remember!) to Needle and Thread Thursday, Show and Tell and Crazy Moms. Hello visitors!









15 comments:

Anonymous said...

So pretty! I'm participating in a sew along for Pillow Pop; can't wait to get to this cushion. The colours and fabrics you picked are so great!

Megan said...

I love a blog post that's choc full of lovely pics! Great job. Laughed heartily when I read the part about Princess announcing she didn't like the pink ric rac any more - dancing with danger wasn't she??

Serena @ Sewgiving said...

How cute are those fabrics you used! The overall look is awesome and I'm definitely not showing my daughters 'cause they want one!

DeborahGun said...

good job she is a cute princess! I love this cushion - the balance of colours is perfect :-)

Renee said...

It turned out great, I love HST! I assure you making a larger version IS more work, even if it's the same amount of HST.

Tiffany said...

Wow!! I love the pillow! What a lucky little girl!! I'm also jealous of your ability to match fabrics. I just made a pillow top that used 4" squares that I'm pretty sure I hate. It looked good during the planning process, but it really didn't come together well in the end. I'll have to check out the site you posted!!

Julie said...

That pillow is one of my favourites too. But the thought of making all those HST puts me off. This is just beautiful - feel free to make me one - I like piping:)

Schulz Family said...

gorgeous

Tilkunviilaaja said...

Very nice! I spy some really nice Kaffe Fassett snippets too. What a fab pillow cover, ricrac and all. Princess IS lucky you love her! Since you make such beautiful things also for her.

Leonie said...

Love it - and no doubt princess does too! I reckon it makes quilting that much more rewarding... all the freeking cutting and ironing... no? Am I grasping at straws? Oh well - it is a fab pillow :)

Marianne said...

The ric-rac is great! Such a pretty pillow!

Ida said...

Love the little fish and the turtle and the snail . . and so many things about this. Great job! Lucky little lady.

Gemini Jen NZ said...

It's a super pillow! What a lot of effort (I loved your musings about getting a full quilt if you'd made the blocks 10"! Sigh!) All worth it I'm sure!

hydeeannsews said...

you used a lot of snippets of a lot of good stuff in here! i thought you were making another gift cushion when i saw this on IG so i am glad to see it's staying home with you and princess. all those hst's! you are probably right about it being almost as much effort as a larger quilt with the same # of blocks, but she's a beauty.

Anna@Domestic Quilting Joy said...

Just beautiful. I particularly love your colour choices and all the amazing things to hunt out and look at. Lucky Princess.